Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - Engagement ring rescued after it was flushed in toilet - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

 A fiancee's worst nightmare was washed away when a plumbing company was able to rescue her engagement ring after it was flushed down the toilet.

Courtnee Ivy realized after using the restroom early Tuesday morning that her new engagement ring had fallen off and had gone down the second-floor toilet in her home.

When Chris Beveridge saw a call from his fiancee at 5 in the morning, he knew something was wrong.

"My heart kinda dropped a little bit and I was like, 'Wow, if you didn't like it you didn't have to flush it down the toilet.' But I know it wasn't like that, I know it was just an accident," Beveridge said.

Panic began to set in and Ivy was trying everything that came to mind.

"I freaked out I put my hand as far into the toilet as I could," Ivy said.

Beveridge got home, removed the toilets and looked down the lines with a flashlight as far as he could, but couldn't see anything.

That's when they called some expert help.

"Stop what you are doing," Shawn Patton, owner and operator of Patton Plumbing Heating and AC, told them. "Let's get a plumber over there and see what's going on."

When Patton's team got to Ivy's home, they saw the work Ivy and Beveridge had already tried doing, after Googling what to do.

Patton's team took out a special camera rig that allows them to snake through the sewage pipes.

"We kept pushing the camera real slow because we didn't want to push the ring and pass it, and we got 21 feet in and there it was," Patton said.

They found the ring a foot away from falling into what Patton calls "the abyss" — the main sewage pipes.

The ring was located inside a pipe in the hallway of the second floor, but to help keep costs down they decided to try accessing it from the first floor.

From there, Patton's team cut out a hole in the ceiling, carefully cut the pipe in half and spent another 45 minutes wrestling the ring out of the pipe.

Not knowing what would happen, Ivy left her home while Patton and his team worked to rescue the ring.

"I had to leave just cause I couldn't sit here anymore, I kept crying," Ivy said.

Patton's team got the ring out and the couple was relieved and happy to have it back.

"I probably have done one of these in the last 10 years and so, when we get it, we're excited," Patton said. "If there is a change to get it out, we are going to get it out . It's a chance to do something really fun and good for the customer, and you're hoping for the best."

The couple said the ring is going to stay in the box until it gets resized.

source: https://wreg.com/2018/08/02/__trashed-21/

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Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - Ford Transit camper van has everything you need, including a toilet - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

It's hard to live without a toilet, but it is also hard to squeeze one into such a small space without some compromises.

Readers often complain when we show fossil fuel powered camper vans, particularly from a certain German company that sells Westfalia conversions. However, travelling across the country in one remains a fantasy of this TreeHugger, and these vans are remarkable examples of really efficient design for small spaces.

And while Sami has noted that electric vans are coming down the road soon, if you want any significant range, right now we are still pretty much stuck with gas or diesel. I really liked the VW California Camper that we showed recently, but it had one fundamental problem: It lacked a toilet.

Now Westfalia and Ford have introduced the Nugget Plus, built on a Ford Transit platform. It sleeps four, with a double bed in that ugly high roof and another double bed that folds out over the dining area. But most importantly, it has a toilet built in at the back of the bus.

© Ford/ toilet is out in the open area

The toilet placement takes a bit of getting used to; you have some privacy when it is in use because of a retractable screen that provides visual but not too much acoustic privacy, but when it is not in use, it is out in the open, essentially in the kitchen area.

© Ford/ Sink folds down

Then there is a fold-down sink on the other side of the van. C.C. Weiss of New Atlas explains:

After spending a few minutes or more on a toilet bumping, splishing and sploshing in rhythm with the rolling wheels below, the first thing you're sure to want to do is wash your hands. With no room for a sink inside the toilet room, Westfalia did the next best thing in adding a small drop-down sink directly across from the bathroom on the edge of the kitchen counter. The extra sink serves as a more sanitary solution versus bathroom goers having to beeline for the kitchen sink.

© Ford Nugget with privacy screen closed

While a toilet is a great convenience, surely one could pull over for a few minutes instead of splishing and sploshing, but whatever. Just having a toilet is a great convenience, even if that screen is not sound and smell proof.

It’s too bad someone couldn’t come up with a modern version of David Fergusson’s 1948 bathroom, where both the toilet and the sink folded up into the wall, leaving the space for a shower stall. Then nobody would have to look at the toilet or the sink when they weren’t needed.

The Nugget is powered by a 129- and 168-hp 2.0-liter EcoBlue Euro 6 diesel engine, with choice of manual or automatic transmission. It comes with two 95-Ah AGM batteries and two 42 litre fresh and waste water tanks. CO2 emissions while driving are 183 - 169 g / km, or at 100 km/hr, 18.3 kg per hour; Interestingly, the average American couple emits 108 kg of CO2 per day between driving and living, so trading in your house and your car for a diesel powered van might actually lower your footprint, as I continue to search for a TreeHugger justification for this.

© Ford/ Westfalia

Compared to the California, it is more reasonably priced at about US$ 72,500, about the price of a condo parking space in New York or Toronto these days. Find a spot with a high ceiling and you could live in it. That’s also less money than many of the tiny houses Kim has been showing lately, and this one actually moves itself.

I look forward to when these are electric and self-driving, where you can go to bed in one place and wake up in another. It might make a lot of our fixed and immobile real estate superfluous.

source: https://www.treehugger.com/tiny-houses/ford-transit-camper-van-has-everything-you-need-including-toilet.html

by Lloyd Alter

http://www.thisoldtoilet.com

Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - Photos: Designer gets on a roll, creates toilet seat tissue holder- This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

Credit: Henry Franks/Cover Images

A British designer has created a new product that some might refer to as “toilet humor.”

People have long argued over which way round to put the toilet paper roll, but this product addresses the question of where one should place said roll.

Henry Franks of Oxford thinks that he has the answer. ‘Bog Standard’ is an oak toilet seat with the toilet roll holder on the front.

“This was part of a research project into how the mechanics of humor can be used to improve everyday objects,” says Franks.

“By placing the loo roll at the front, it becomes a clean handle for people to pick the seat up with and is arguably where you want the loo roll in the first place.

“Making people talk about an event by designing an experience using a humorous product hopefully brings awareness of how mundane or everyday products could be enhanced, and if nothing else hopefully brings a smile to the user.”

source: https://komonews.com/news/offbeat/photos-designer-gets-on-a-roll-creates-toilet-seat-tissue-holderby 

by cover images

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Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - 5 SIGNS YOU NEED A NEW TOILET - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

You rely on your toilet daily, but you probably don't think much about it until something goes wrong. Just like other major appliances in your home, your toilet will probably need to be replaced after years of use. How do you know when it’s time to install a new toilet?

There are cracks in your tank

If you frequently see a puddle of water around your toilet, this could be more than a simple leak: You could have cracks in your tank, and the toilet may need to be replaced. A plumber can help you determine if it’s an issue that can be repaired. If the toilet appears to be working properly - flushing well not clogged, not running - but there is water around the bottom of it, that could mean there are cracks in the bowl.

You have an old toilet

Regardless of whether your toilet is working properly, if you have had the same one for decades you should consider replacing it. Older toilets are likely to be less efficient than newer ones, which means they could be driving up your water bill. Advancements made in the past few years have resulted in toilets that use significantly less water. Current Federal law requires residential toilets (flush tank type) manufactured and sold in the U.S. after Jan. 1, 1994, to use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush, and some newer toilets use even less. If your toilet has not been replaced since 1994, it may be time for a new one. When shopping for a more efficient model, you may want to consider one that offers dual-flush technology. This gives you the option of a partial flush for liquid waste and a full flush for solid waste, so you can use less water while still flushing every time.

You feel it wobble

A toilet that wobbles or rocks is not normal. If your toilet is unsteady, call a plumber right away to evaluate the problem. While it could be a simple matter of tightening some bolts, it could also mean that the floor underneath is damaged or rotting and you'll need to have it professionally repaired.

You've had to fix it often

If you've had to call a plumber several times in the past few years to have your toilet repaired, it may be time to purchase a new one. It will likely save you money in the long run.

You have a round bowl

While there's nothing drastically wrong with your round bowl, replacing it with an elongated model is worth considering. These types of bowls tend to be more comfortable than round ones because they allow for more seating room. An elongated bowl also stays cleaner and allows fewer odors to escape, according to Consumer Reports. Round bowls do have a slightly smaller footprint, but if you have room, consider making the switch.

source: https://siouxcityjournal.com/ads/service/food/signs-you-need-a-new-toilet/ad_4989d302-95a5-11e8-9dbc-f32d6838495e.html

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Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - Good2Go makes toilets easier to find — for those with smart phones - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

Ivor Bradley of the Creamery scans a bar code that opens the door to a restroom during a training session at Good2Go in S.F.

Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

A new gatekeeper stands in front of the restrooms at the Whole Foods on Stanyan Street. Wearing a shirt with “Good2Go” embroidered on the chest, he offers a combination of advice and advertisement: If you want to use the toilet, he tells customers, request a receipt with a computer-generated code from the customer service desk or download his company’s app.

This is San Francisco, after all, where even pit stops are becoming mobile-enabled — and monetized. Does Good2Go make toilets easier to find, or does it further the digital divide? Perhaps both.

According to Fran Heller, CEO and founder of Good2Go, the inspiration for her San Francisco company came from her running group in Menlo Park, which often followed routes along unfamiliar streets. Google Maps couldn’t tell runners in need where to find a nearby toilet. Neither could Waze. Eureka! Economic opportunity presented itself.

“San Francisco really struggles, as does any busy urban area, with inadequate access to restrooms,” Heller said. “People don’t know where they can find a restroom, or if they think they can find one, you’ve got to negotiate access, and it’s fraught with problems.”

Four years after its founding, Good2Go has $7 million in seed funding, according to investment database Crunchbase, and restroom-door hardware installed in 11 San Francisco businesses, with a mobile toilet truck appearing at events in the fall. For now, the service is free, but later this year, it will switch to a pay-as-you-go proposition.

Jim Summers uses the Good2Go app during a training session at the company’s San Francisco headquarters.

Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Most of the early adopters are cafes: Several Peet’s locations, plus independents such as the Creamery in SoMa and Fifty/Fifty in the Inner Richmond. The Stanyan Street location is the first Whole Foods to convert to the technology.

To use Good2Go, a toilet-seeker approaches a participating business and opens the app, which prompts her to join the queue. When she’s up, a computerized QR code appears on the screen of her phone. (At the Whole Foods, a screen next to the door lets holders of paper receipts know who’s next.) She waves the code under a reader, and the door opens. (Science!) Another wave of the hand next to a sensor inside the restroom lets her out, at which time the app invites her to review her, uh, experience.

The company handles the door technology and requires participating merchants to install hands-free fixtures and diaper-changing tables. The promise to them, according to Heller, isn’t just new customers who may seek out a restroom and leave with a latte, but eventually, a share of the revenue when Good2Go starts charging.

You didn’t think that technical innovation was for free, did you? Sometime this fall, around the time when the company is placed in 20 locations, Good2Go plans to switch to a subscriber model: $2.99 for a day pass, $19.99 for one month, with further discounts for multiple months. Heller said her two target customers are tourists and office-less workers, such as Uber and Lyft drivers.

Whole Foods did not return The Chronicle’s queries, but any regular Stanyan Street Whole Foods shopper can tell you that tourists on Haight Street make up a significant part of the restroom line and homeless San Franciscans another. Sharing door codes and holding doors open for each other was common. Now, each one must wave a unique Good2Go code under the reader. (The app won’t prevent you from holding the door open for the next person in line, however.)

"We love our cartons labels by WebSticker.com."

source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Good2Go-makes-toilets-easier-to-find-for-13109325.php

by Jonathan Kauffman

http://www.thisoldtoilet.com